Advanced CEL Class Projects

As part of the Center’s plan to help build the capacity of its community partners, an increasing number of upper level classes are completing projects at Bonner and other sites. A sample of some recent and current projects appears below:

Business students conducted research to clarify the true cost of running a newspaper for and with the homeless population in Trenton. The Wall newspaper is an initiative started by the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness, the Rescue Mission, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and the Bonner Center.

Students analyzed the feasibility of Habitat for Humanity opening and operating a store that could receive donated items, such as power tools or furniture, and selling them in their own retail store for a profit. Research from this project was utilized in the Habitat ReStore in Trenton.

Three teams of students prepared and delivered a workshop for three anti-poverty community organizations on how social media tools to further advance their goals and objectives. All participating organizations received their own training manual to bring back to their agency.

Students participated in a variety of projects including helping enroll eligible individuals in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This was part of an initiative to increase individual enrollment in SNAP in the State of New Jersey. Other students also work with Bonner Community Scholars and inmates in Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility to develop a literary magazine.

Students from this class worked in four teams to conduct assessments with partners in the community, as well as here on campus. One research group from this class focused on the impact of community engaged learning on the teaching and learning processes, as well as the community itself. Students interviewed FSP faculty members who have shaped CEL projects with the Center, as well as non-profit leaders who are working with Bonner on a regular basis.

Students in this class built upon the work of a First Year Seminar Program course with a CEL component in Applied Theatre. Together, they took ownership of a weekly programming block at the Academic Sports Academy after school program where they created and delivered enrichment lessons that utilized the arts to develop the skills of the kids in grades five through eight.